Teresa_Kelechi

Teresa J. Kelechi PhD, RN, CWCN, FAAN

Associate Dean for Research and PhD Studies, Medical University of South Carolina College of Nursing

Dr. Teresa J. Kelechi, PhD, RN, FAAN, is a Professor, Associate Dean for Research and PhD Studies, and the David and Margaret Clare Endowed Chair and teaches in the PhD program. She received her BSN from Kent State University, MSN in Gerontological Nursing from Case Western Reserve University, and PhD from the University of South Carolina. She is a certified wound care nurse and gerontological clinical nurse specialist. Dr. Kelechi developed her expertise as a foot and wound care provider early in her career and for many years, delivered care in an outpatient nurse-managed clinic that she implemented. She was a pioneer in changing policy through state boards of nursing to advance foot care delivered by nurses for patients with diabetes. She also was instrumental in establishing a series of in-person and online courses and resources that lead to certification as a Certified Foot Care Nurse (CFCN). After many years of clinical practice, she realized that she needed a PhD to advance her ideas for conducting research, resulting in numerous studies funded by the National Institute of Nursing Research and organizations such as Marine Polymer Technologies and American Nurses Foundation. Dr. Kelechi is best known for her wound research in venous leg ulcer prevention interventions (cooling therapy, physical activity, loneliness therapy), symptom self-management, and palliative wound care. She is Director of the College’s Symptom Self-Management Center that provides pilot funding for nurse scientists to develop technology-based interventions. She is interested in wound prevention and self-management interventions that target older populations with lower leg and foot wounds.


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